On Sabbath, December 17th, the Grace Seventh-day Adventist Russian congregation in Troutdale celebrated its official organization into “company” status––the final step before being organized as a “church.”

For nearly two decades now, volunteers from all over have come together on the campgrounds at the Oregon Conference to bring the Christmas story to life in the live-action interactive experience.

For decades the community in Gladstone, Ore. has gathered food, toys, and teen gifts in an effort to help struggling families provide Christmas presents for their families. This year the Oregon Conference office staff joined the effort.

I got the call on a cool Sabbath morning as I was walking to church. They had already started the song service. I was running late. My wife had taken our only car out early that morning, starting a five-hour trip to pick her brother up from college for his Thanksgiving break. I was about halfway to the church when my phone began to vibrate.

From sermons and evangelistic series to household worships and small group discussions, looking forward to Jesus’ soon return can often become so central to the posture of our faith that we can ignore the things God is calling us to do right here, right now, with the earth we have.